Copyright 2008 Karen Hurd Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Often we miss opportunities because of being dominated by our fears instead of focusing on our vision. Our fears blind us and lock us into mindsets that are unproductive.
I knew an investor who was *very careful* with his money. He grew up in poverty, and he never wanted to live like that again. As a young man during the depression, he understood that creating wealth required some level of risk, but his life experience made him extraordinarily cautious. He worked hard, took a few calculated risks in established industries and became a millionaire.
Around 1964, someone came to him with this new business idea. Mass production, mass media were taking root, which created new types of business models. This new business had the potential to make ALOT of money. It was a type of restaurant, but you didn’t have to know how to cook to run it. He thought that was pretty strange (his brother owned a restaurant and had to hire a chef). The restaurant didn’t have waitresses, the menu was on the wall and it served only one kind of food.
It didn’t look like any business he had ever seen before. It was going to cost him over $600 to get the rights to the restaurant, but he was very cautious and skeptical. This industry was untried. In fact, this business model had been legalized only 7 years earlier. It didn’t quite fit into his mindset. Being on the ground floor wasn’t exciting to him, it was scary. Last time he tried being on the ground floor – by introducing women’s hosiery into grocery stores in the late 1950′s it bombed. He didn’t want that experience again. So he didn’t buy it.
As the years passed, he would drive by the location that he didn’t buy and the sign would say 10,000 served, then 100,000 served. He quit looking when the sign went over 1 million sold.
Now it just says billions and billions sold. They’ve sold so many, they’ve lost count. The man who turned down the Golden Arches was Walter, my grandfather. My Grandfather was a millionaire when he was offered this restaurant, but because he was afraid to lose a measly $600 in 1964, – he gave up the chance to own a McDonald’s. He kept his $600 hundred and lost millions.
It’s easy now to point fingers at someone like my grandfather who passed up what we now know is a sure thing. My grandfather knew what he wanted. He worked hard. But he didn’t understand the power of mindset. He didn’t know how to change his paradigm. There were no “life coaches” in 1964. He didn’t understand how it affected his decision making and perspective. It cost him a great deal.
We all like to point at the “fools” who lost money on a new venture. We are often jealous of people who got in on the ground floor of something. It’s important to discern between fear of loss, and reasonable risk.
Keep your focus on your vision. Stay informed on changes in the market place. Be prepared for the new opportunities that come your way.
If Walter was here today, he’d tell you to go for it. He encouraged me to start my own home business and it was the best financial decision I ever made.
Tags: attitude, building network marketing, professional development
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